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FOCUS:
 Special
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9-11
Meta Index September 11 2001
CLONING
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MEDIA News:
20081218
 Dick
Cheney -  Criminal
-  Torture
- War
Crimes - Prisons
-  Law
-  Military
-  Intelligence
-  Politics
-  Corporate
- Media
-  US
-  Iraq
"If
Bush and Cheney Commit War Crimes and Everyone Knows It, But Does Nothing,
Are They Still Crimes?" ... "As Jon Ponder noted
here on Tuesday, a bi-partisan U.S. [United States] Senate panel has
found
[PDF] that [Republican President] George W. Bush was responsible for
approving War Crimes (torture and abuse) at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq,
[Republican Vice President] Dick Cheney admitted
in a recent interview to helping to approve War Crimes (torture and abuse)
in interrogations, and the corporate media --- with the lone exception
of MSNBC --- have been virtually as silent on what may be the most offensive
crimes ever committed by an Executive Branch in the U.S. as they were during
the lead-up to and follow-through on the War on Iraq, when those same officials
sent our nation into war on the basis of demonstrable lies." ... "George
Washington University's highly-respected constitutional law professor Jonathon
Turley, noting the War Crimes now known and admitted to by Bush and Cheney,
asked Keith Olbermann Tuesday night, "If someone commits a crime and everyone's
around to see it and does nothing, is it still a crime?"" ... "During the
discussion, Turley mentioned --- no less than three different times ---
that it'll be up to the citizens whether or not any action is actually
taken to prosecute those who committed these crimes." ... ""It will ultimately
depend on citizens, and whether they will remain silent in the face of
a crime that's been committed in plain view," Turley suggested. "It is
equally immoral to stand silent in the face of a war crime and do nothing,
and that is what the citizens are doing."" ... "He went on to argue: "There's
this gigantic yawn as we hear about a war crime on national television
being discussed matter-of-factly by the Vice President."" -By
Brad
Friedman -BradBlog.com
 WATCH
"Countdown: Jonathan Turley and Bush Admin War Crimes."
-Keith Olbermann via -FireDogLake'sYouTube
20081216
 China
- US
-  British
-  Hong
Kong -  Taiwan
-  Foreign
- Language
-  Websites
- Police
- Law
- Journalists
-  Radio
-  Sports
"China
'bans BBC Chinese website': China appears to have
banned a number of foreign websites, including the [United Kingdom's British
Broadcasting Corporation] BBC's Chinese language news site and Voice of
America in Chinese." ... "The sites had been unblocked after journalists
attending the Beijing [China's capital] Olympics complained that the government
was censoring sites deemed sensitive." ... "The BBC expressed disappointment
at the apparent reinstatement of the ban." ... "But a Chinese government
spokesman told journalists that some sites contained content that violated
Chinese law." ... "Among the other sites blocked are Asiaweek, Reporters
Without Borders and some Hong Kong and Taiwan sites." ... "China imposes
strict controls on the dissemination of information through the web, employing
teams of people to remove sensitive content, police bloggers and remove
access to certain sites." ... "In a statement, the BBC said it was disappointed
that Chinese-speaking audiences in China were denied access to BBCChinese.com."
... "It said that except during the 2008 Games, the website had been blocked
since its inception nearly a decade ago, and Mandarin radio broadcasts
had been "subject to persistent frequency interference for decades"."
-BBC/News
BBCChinese.com
20081212
 Barack
Obama - Media
- Politics
- Investigation
-  History
-  Illinois
"Media
Matters: Media pick up where they left off 8 years ago."
... "To anyone who lived through the media feeding frenzy of the 1990s,
during which the nation's leading news organizations spent the better part
of a decade destroying their own credibility by relentlessly hyping a series
of non-scandals, the past few days, in which the media have tried to shoehorn
[Democratic President Elect] Barack Obama into the [Illinois Democratic
Governor] Rod Blagojevich scandal, have been sickeningly familiar." ...
"Whenever reporters think -- or want you to think -- they've uncovered
a presidential scandal, they waste little time in comparing it to previous
controversies." ... "Perhaps the most striking aspect of the media's attempts
to link Obama to the Blagojevich scandal has been the volume of news reports
that are purely speculative -- and not only speculative, but vaguely
speculative. That is, they don't even consist of conjecture about specific
potential wrong doing. They simply consist of completely baseless speculation
that Obama might in some way become caught up in the investigation at some
point in the future, for some reason. It's little more than, "Maybe Obama
will be involved." Well, sure. And maybe he'll play shortstop for
the Washington Nationals [baseball team] next year." ... "If you want to
make a "scandal" stick to someone despite the inconvenient truth that they
aren't actually guilty of the purported wrongdoing in question, one thing
you do -- if you're the media covering a Democratic president, or an overzealous
conservative -- is continually expand the scandal's definition. So the
"scandal" grows and evolves into an amorphous mass of innuendo as political
opponents and journalists begin throwing everything against the wall, hoping
something will stick." ... "If the news media regains a bit of the skepticism
so many of them set aside for the past eight years, that would be an unequivocally
good thing, and it should be applauded." ... "But this week brought signs
that much of the media is set to resume the absurd and shameful behavior
that defined the 1990s -- guilt by association, circular analysis whereby
they ask baseless questions about non-scandals, then claim they have to
report on the "scandal" because the White House is "besieged by questions,"
grotesque leaps of logic, downplaying exculpatory information, and too
many other failings to list." ... "If that happens -- if the media continue
to behave as they did in covering Whitewater -- they will damage the country.
It's really that simple. We cannot afford to be distracted from serious
problems by overheated conjecture and baseless insinuation masquerading
as journalism." ... "That's how the media behaved the last time we had
a Democratic president. They devoted wall-to-wall coverage to invented
"scandals," ignored exculpatory evidence, saw evidence of guilt everywhere,
took people out of context in order to accuse them of lying, and generally
behaved like a pack of wild animals who couldn't tell right from wrong
or truth from fiction -- or who simply didn't care. As a group, they behaved
without ethical standards and without regard for the truth." ... "It's
our responsibility -- all of us -- to make sure it doesn't happen again."
-By Jamison
Foser -MediaMatters.org
20081210
Barack
Obama - Illinois
- Money
- Legislation
- Media
- Politics
"Obama's
support of ethics reform is good news for the GOP [GOP=Republican Party]...."
... "Seriously, I'm trying to get my arms around this
new story on the Blagojevich scandal that the New York Times [by Mike McIntire
and Jeff Zeleny] has put out there. The lede of the article is tantalizing:"
"In
a sequence of events that neatly captures the contradictions of [Democratic
President Elect] Barack Obama’s rise through Illinois politics, a phone
call he made three months ago to urge passage of a state ethics bill indirectly
contributed to the downfall of a fellow Democrat he twice supported, [Illinois
Democratic Governor] Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich."
"Mr.
Obama placed the call to his political mentor, Emil Jones Jr., president
of the Illinois Senate. Mr. Jones was a critic of the legislation, which
sought to curb the influence of money in politics, as was Mr. Blagojevich,
who had vetoed it. But after the call from Mr. Obama, the Senate overrode
the veto, prompting the governor to press state contractors for campaign
contributions before the law’s restrictions could take effect on Jan. 1,
prosecutors say."
"OK,
so what I'm getting from that is that Barack Obama supports ethics in government,
that he doesn't think state contractors should be making large campaign
contributions. Hey, that's a good thing, right?" ... "Right?" ... "Uh,
according to the New York Times, not necessarily:"
"Beyond
the irony of its outcome, Mr. Obama’s unusual decision to inject himself
into a statewide issue during the height of his presidential campaign was
a reminder that despite his historic ascendancy to the White House, he
has never quite escaped the murky and insular world of Illinois politics.
It is a world he has long navigated, to the consternation of his critics,
by engaging in a kind of realpolitik, Chicago-style, which allowed him
to draw strength from his relationships with important players without
becoming compromised by their many weaknesses."
""Beyond
the irony of its outcome..."? Huh? How about...beyond the irony of the
fact that an Obama phone call for an ethics reform bill -- strongly opposed
by none other than Rod Blagojevich -- is an excuse to somehow tie him to
the "murky" world of Chicago politics. Look (as Obama himself might say),
there's some interesting new information in this Times article, but their
basic perspective is all upside-down wrong." ... "Did it occur to them
that maybe Obama was elected 44th president of the United States exactly
because he HAS escaped "the murky and insular world of Illinois politics"?
When people ask why would someone like Obama involve himself in Chicago
politics, the bottom line is Chicago is where he lived -- he moved there
to organize laid-off steelworkers, got a job there and then even married
a Windy City native." -Philly.com
-By
Will Bunch
20081209
 Kevin
Martin - Corporate
-  Government
- Politics
-  Telecommunications
-  Accounting
- Investigation
- Consumers
- Video
- Media
"Congressional
report: FCC chair abused power." ... "[Republican
President Bush's] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin
ignored his responsibilities as head of the regulatory body and abused
his power, according to a congressional report released Tuesday." ... "Over
the course of his tenure, Martin manipulated and withheld information from
the other FCC [Federal Communications Commission] commissioners and from
Congress, neglected his statutory responsibilities to produce certain information
to Congress, and ignored evidence that certain national communications
programs were being grossly mismanaged, according to the report issued
by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, titled "Deception
and Distrust: The Federal Communications Commission Under Chairman Kevin
J. Martin." (PDF)" ... "The committee launched a bipartisan investigation
in January after hearing allegations of mismanagement from current and
former FCC employees, telecommunications industry representatives, and
other FCC commissioners." ... "Typically, a congressional committee would
hold hearings to investigate such matters, but the report was issued in
lieu of hearings because, the report says, "due to the climate of fear
that pervades the FCC...we found that key witnesses were unwilling to testify
or even to have their names become known."" ... "The chairman's office,
the report says, ignored evidence consumers were overcharged and providers
were overcompensated by as much as $100 million a year. The neglect of
that information led to a windfall of millions of dollars for the largest
TRS [Telecommunications Relay Service] provider, Sorenson, which covers
about 80 percent of the video relay services market." ... "The report also
recommends the Government Accountability Office audit the entire TRS program,
including the FCC's efforts to protect the integrity of the fund." ...
"The report also says Martin manipulated information given to his fellow
commissioners and Congress. For instance, upon becoming chair in 2005,
the report says, Martin ordered FCC staff to reverse the findings of a
study, which initially said that "a la carte" cable programming would not
benefit consumers. He also demoted the Media Bureau chief, who had been
in charge of the study." ... "The reversal led to suspicion inside and
out of the FCC that the study sent to Congress was not based on objective
analysis, the committee report says." -By Stephanie
Condon -CNET
/News
20081124
China
- Media
- Politics
-  Entertainment
-  Music
- Free
Speech - Law
- US
"China
state media blast new Guns N' Roses album." ... "A
newspaper published by China's ruling Communist Party is blasting the latest
Guns N' Roses album as an attack on the Chinese nation." ... "Delayed since
recording began in 1994, "Chinese Democracy" hit stores in the U.S. on
Sunday, although it is unlikely to be sold legally in China, where censors
maintain tight control over films, music and publications." ... "In an
article Monday headlined "American band releases album venomously attacking
China," the Global Times said unidentified Chinese Internet users had described
the album as part of a plot by some in the West to "grasp and control the
world using democracy as a pawn."" ... "The album "turns its spear point
on China," the article said." -By Christopher Bodeen
-AP via -Yahoo
20081115
Corporate
- Television
- Media
- Politics
"If
it’s Sunday, it’s still conservative." ... "In 2006,
Media Matters conducted a study on Sunday political talk shows, finding
that “Republicans and conservatives
have been offered more opportunities to appear on the Sunday shows
— in some cases, dramatically so.” From 2001 to 2005, conservative guests
outnumbered progressives “by 58 percent to 42 percent.” Atrios notes that
tomorrow’s shows will also be dominated by conservative
guests:"
"7
Appearances by Republican current elected officeholders"
"3
Appearances by Democratic current elected officeholders."
"2
Appearances by Republican former elected officeholders."
"1
Appearance by a [Republican President] Bush Cabinet Secretary."
"T.
Boone Pickens [former Republican swift boat contributor]"
"Ted
Turner. "
"
-ThinkProgress.org
20081114
Political
- Corporate
- Television
- Media
-  Michigan
-  Massachusetts
-  New
York -  Arizona
-  Georgia-  Louisiana
-  Alabama
"More
Muscle." ... "TPM Reader RS ..."
"Here
is something progressives really need to address. On Sunday morning political
shows, three Democrats are confirmed as guests: [Michigan Democratic Senator]
Carl Levin, [Massachusetts Democratic Representative] Barney Frank, and
[New York Democratic Representative] Charlie Rangel. It's as if Democrats
didn't just win huge electoral advances in the Presidential, House, and
Senate elections. So we get the same thing we've had the past 8 years--republican
hegemony on Sunday. [Arizona Republican Senator Jon] Kyl? Check. [former
Georgia Republican Representative Newt] Gingrich? Check. [Republican Michael]
Steele? Check. [Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby] Jindal and [Alabama
Republican Senator Richard] Shelby? Check and check? Just look at The Page
for the whole list. When is the "liberal media" going to give some of the
oxygen to Democrats?"
"This
is unquestionably true. The bookers and producers of the Sunday shows are
committed to the continuing dominance of conservative/Republican marquee
guests. No question about it. And this is going to be one part of the rewiring
of Washington that will take longer and face more resistance than possibly
any other. The big interests and institutions that go to Washington to
buy influence are quickly reacting to the changing political complexion
of the city. The TV bookers and opinion act like nothing's happened." -By
Josh Marshall .TalkingPointsMemo
20081112
 Sarah
Palin -  John
McCain - 2008
Election - Media
- Politics
-  Alaska
- Arizona
"Why
Palin Still Matters." ... "Let's be real in a way
the national media seems incapable of: this person [2008 Election Republican
Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin] should never
have been placed on a national ticket in a mature democracy. She was incapable
of running a town in Alaska competently. The impulsive, unvetted selection
of a total unknown, with no knowledge of or interest in the wider world,
as a replacement president remains one of the most disturbing events in
modern American history. That the press felt required to maintain a facade
of normalcy for two months - and not to declare the whole thing a farce
from start to finish - is a sign of their total loss of nerve. That the
Palin absurdity should follow the two-term presidency of another individual
utterly out of his depth in national government is particularly troubling.
46 percent of Americans voted for the possibility of this blank slate as
president because she somehow echoed their own sense of religious or cultural
"identity". Until we figure out how this happened, we will not be able
to prevent it from happening again. And we have to find a way to prevent
this from recurring." ... "It happened because [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] John McCain is an incompetent
and a cynic and reckless beyond measure. To have picked someone he'd only
met once before, without any serious vetting procedure, revealed McCain
as an utterly unserious character, a man whose devotion to the shallowest
form of political gamesmanship trumped concern for his country's or his
party's interest." ... "It was a final product of the now-exhausted strategy
of fomenting fundamentalist resentment to elect politicians dedicated to
the defense of Israel and the extension of American military hegemony in
every corner of the globe. Palin was the reductio ad absurdum of this mindset:
a mannequin candidate, easily controlled ideologically, deployed to fool
and corral the resentful and the frightened, removed from serious scrutiny
and sold on propaganda networks like a food product." ... "This deluded
and delusional woman still doesn't understand what happened to her; still
has no
self-awareness; and has never been forced to accept her obvious limitations.
She cannot keep even the most trivial story straight; she repeats untruths
with a ferocity and calm that is reserved only to the clinically unhinged;
she has the educational level of a high school drop-out; and regards ignorance
as some kind of achievement. It is excruciating to watch her - but more
excruciating to watch those who feel obliged to defend her." ... "Her candidacy,
in short, was indefensible. It remains indefensible."
-By Andrew Sullivan
-TheAtlantic.com
20081110
Barack
Obama -  E-Mail
- Database
- 2008
Election -  People
- Communications
- Media
- Politics
- GOV
- Legislation
- 2010
Election
"Under
Obama, Web Would Be the Way: Unprecedented Online
Outreach Expected." ... "Armed with millions of e-mail addresses and a
political operation that harnessed the Internet like no campaign before
it, [Democratic President-Elect] Barack Obama will enter the White House
with the opportunity to create the first truly "wired" presidency." ...
"Obama aides and allies are preparing a major expansion of the White House
communications operation, enabling them to reach out directly to the supporters
they have collected over 21 months without having to go through the mainstream
media." ... "The nucleus of that effort is an e-mail database of more than
10 million supporters. The list is considered so valuable that the Obama
camp briefly offered it as collateral during a cash-flow crunch late in
the campaign, though it wound up never needing the loan, senior aides said.
At least 3.1 million people on the list donated money to Obama." ... "Millions
more made up the volunteer corps that organized his enormous rallies, registered
millions of voters and held countless gatherings to plug the senator to
friends and neighbors. On Election Day [2008], they served as the backbone
of Obama's get-out-the-vote operation, reaching voters by phone and at
the front door, serving coffee at polling stations and babysitting so parents
could stand in line at voting precincts." ... "After Obama declared victory,
his campaign sent a text message announcing that his supporters hadn't
heard the last from the president-elect. Obama conveyed a similar message
to his staff in a campaignwide conference call Wednesday, signaling that
his election was the beginning, and not the culmination, of a political
movement." ... "Accordingly, the president-elect's http://www.change.gov
transition Web site features a blog and a suggestion form, signaling the
kinds of direct and instantaneous interaction that the Obama administration
will encourage, perhaps with an eye toward turning its following into the
biggest special-interest group in Washington." ... "Once Obama is sworn
in, those backers may be summoned to push reluctant members of Congress
to support legislation, to offer feedback on initiatives and to enlist
in administration-supported causes in local communities. Obama would also
be positioned to ask his supporters to back his favored candidates with
fundraising and turnout support in the 2010 midterm elections." (1, 2)
-By Shailagh Murray and Matthew Mosk with contributions
by Alec MacGillis -WashingtonPost
20081109
Radio
-
-  Opinion
- Politics
- People
- 2008
Election - Obama
- Government
-  Retirement
- Money
"Right-wing
media feeds its post-election anger." ... "... [M]any
on the losing end of last week's [2008] election want to hold on to their
anger. And there are those in the media -- led by the likes of [radio talker
Rush] Limbaugh and [Fox tv talker Sean] Hannity -- only too ready to feed
that animus, along with their own ratings." ... "In a time when the nation
calls out for cool leadership and rational discussion, Limbaugh stirs the
caldron, a tendency he proved in a particularly grotesque way last week
when he accused Obama's party of plotting a government takeover of 401(k)
retirement plans." ... ""They're going to take your 401(k), put it in the
Social Security trust fund, whatever the hell that is," Limbaugh woofed.
"Trust fund, my rear end."" ... "A slight problem with Limbaugh's report:
Obama and the Democrats have proposed no such thing." ... "To broadcast
such a report -- so drained of context as to constitute a lie -- would
be a shameless act at any time. But Limbaugh needlessly stirred the fears
of the millions he holds in his thrall -- making the 401(k) thievery sound
like nearly a done deal. Shameless." -By James Rainey
-LAtimes
20081108
Barack
Obama -  John
Boehner
-  Karl
Rove - 2008
Election - Media
- Politics
- Corporate
-  Healthcare
-  Ohio
- US
- Iraq
- Global
-  Climate
"Sunday
Roundup." ... "In the wake of [2008 Election Democratic
President-Elect Barack] Obama's overwhelming victory, and Democratic gains
in the House and Senate, conservatives are desperately trying to convince
the world that these results are meaningless. "Democrats should not make
the mistake of viewing Tuesday's results as a repudiation of conservatism,"
insisted
[Ohio Republican Representative] John Boehner. "Barack Obama understands
this is a center-right country,"
claimed
Karl Rove. "This country remains every bit as center-right as it has for
a generation," parroted
Brent Bozell. And David Brooks dreamed
of an Obama administration that understands "this was an election where
the middle asserted itself." Drunk on self-delusion, a staggering GOP whistles
past the electoral graveyard, missing the whole point of this election:
the center
has shifted, and positions that used to be considered "left-wing" --
on healthcare, on global warming, on corporate responsibility, on Iraq
-- are now solidly mainstream." -By Arianna
Huffington -HuffingtonPost.com
20081104
Dick
Cheney - Opinion
- Politics
- History
- 2008
Election - 2004
Election
"In
2008, will media recall 2004 declarations of Bush "mandate"?
Summary: [Republican] President Bush was re-elected in 2004 with 286 electoral
votes, the smallest popular-vote margin since 1976 (excluding the 2000
election) and the lowest electoral vote count for an incumbent president's
re-election since 1916. Nevertheless, many in the media were quick to echo
[**] [Republican]
Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that "the nation" gave Bush "a mandate."
It remains to be seen whether the media will apply the same standard in
assessing the results of the 2008 election." -By S.S.M.
-MediaMatters.org
20081029
Barack
Obama -
- Ad
- Media
- 2008
Election -  Families
-Economy
- Military
- Ohio
-  Missouri
-  Kansas-  New
Mexico -  Florida
- Arizona
- - US
- Iraq
"30-minute
Obama ad shows campaign muscle." ... "[2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama's
30-minute TV ad, which ran simultaneously on broadcast and cable networks
at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, is muscle-flexing that has little precedent, a
campaign advertising expert said." ... ""It's evidence, if you needed any,
that the Obama campaign has more money than there is ad time left to buy,"
said Evan Tracey, director of the Campaign Media Analysis Group. "This
is flexing the muscles."" ... ""The strategic brilliance of this for Obama
is that he is going to consume about 24 hours of the news cycle," Tracey
said. "It boxes [John] McCain in, takes the oxygen out of the room."" ...
"In the carefully produced infomercial, Obama laid out his plans for the
economy and for bringing an end to the war in Iraq." ... "It also featured
stories of struggling families in swing states such as Ohio and Missouri
and included testimonials from high-profile supporters, including Kansas
[Democratic Governor] Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and New Mexico [Democratic
Governor] Gov. Bill Richardson." ... "Obama's Republican opponent, Arizona
Sen. John McCain, was not mentioned, nor was the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican].
The spot ended with a brief, live Obama address to a rally in Florida,
another hotly contested state in this year's campaign." -By
Richard Allen Greene -CNN
WATCH
Barack
Obama ad: "American Stories, American Solutions."
"Obama:
"I'm reminded every single day that I am not a perfect man. I will not
be a perfect president. But I can promise you this: I will always tell
you what I think and where I stand. I will always be honest with you about
the challenges we face. I will listen to you when we disagree. And, most
importantly, I will open the doors of government and ask you to be involved
in your own democracy again."" - BarackObama.com
20081020
 Cartoon
-  Fashion
- History
-  Germany
-  Poland
- US
- McCain
- Palin
- 2008
Election - /Channel
- Media
- Corp
"Fox
Family Feud Over ‘Family Guy’." ... "A Sunday night
episode of the Fox animated series “Family
Guy” stirred up trouble by suggesting rather directly that Nazi
officers would have supported the McCain-Palin ticket. And it was another
arm of the News Corp. conglomerate, Fox News Channel, that first reported
on the episode." ... "Fox (the broadcast network) aired the episode in
which Stewie, the obnoxious baby character at the center of the series,
and Brian, a talking dog, traveled back in time to Poland during the 1939
German invasion. The characters ambush Nazi soldiers in an alley and steal
their uniforms so they can travel without drawing attention. Putting on
an overcoat, Stewie notices a McCain-Palin campaign button affixed to the
lapel. “Huh, that’s weird,” Stewie remarks." -By Brooks
Barnes -NYTimes
"Family
Guy" cartoon with animated character "Stewie" in a Nazi uniform with a
McCain/Palin button on it:
WATCH
episode of "Family Guy" cartoon with character Stewie in Nazi uniform with
McCain/Palin button
20081007
Reporter
- Politics
- Government
- Financial
- Social
Security - Accounting
- 2008
Election
"If
Social Security Was a Private Corporation Then it Would Sue Tom Brokaw
for Every Penny He Has." ... "If a news reporter
deliberately makes a false statement claiming that a private company like
Boeing or Microsoft is going broke, the company has the right to sue the
reporter and the news agency. That is why reporters rarely make statements
like Microsoft or Boeing (or Lehman Brothers, AIG, or Goldman Sachs) are
going broke." ... "However, reporters can freely impugn the financial health
of a government program like Social Security because a government program
cannot sue for libel. That is why Brokaw knew that he could imply that
Social Security is going broke, even though it is not true. Social Security
cannot sue Brokaw even if he deliberately tells explicit lies about its
financial health." ... "Those who are interesting in learning about the
true state of Social Security's financial health can find out by looking
at the non-partisan Congressional
Budget Office's website [PDF]." -By Dean
Baker -Prospect.org
20081004
Secret
- John
McCain -  Terrorism
- History
- Money
- Politics
- Radio
-Federal
- Law
- Enforcement
- 2008
Election -  Clinton
- New
York -Arizona
"Why
is the NY Times continuing to ignore McCain's "own Bill Ayers"?"
... "... [The New York[ Times has yet to mention, let alone
devote an entire article to, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate
and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's relationship with radio host and
convicted Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy [Republican President Nixon
associate]." ... "As
Media Matters for America has noted,
Liddy served four and a half years in prison in connection with his conviction
for his role
in the Watergate break-in and the break-in at the office of the psychiatrist
of Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers.
Liddy has acknowledged
preparing to kill someone during the Ellsberg break-in "if necessary";
plotting
to murder journalist Jack Anderson; plotting
with a "gangland figure" to murder Howard Hunt to stop him from cooperating
with investigators; plotting
to firebomb the Brookings Institution; and plotting
to kidnap "leftist guerillas" at the 1972 Republican National Convention
-- a plan he outlined to the Nixon administration using terminology borrowed
from the Nazis. (The murder, firebombing, and kidnapping plots were never
carried out; the break-ins were.) During the 1990s, Liddy reportedly instructed
his radio audience on multiple occasions on how to shoot Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms agents and also reportedly said he had named his
shooting targets after [Democratic President] Bill and [New York Senator]
Hillary Clinton." ... "Liddy has donated
$5,000 to McCain's campaigns since 1998, including $1,000 in February
2008. In addition, McCain has appeared on Liddy's radio show during
the presidential campaign, including as recently as May.
An online
video labeled "John McCain On The G. Gordon Liddy Show 11/8/07"
includes a discussion between Liddy and McCain, whom Liddy described as
an "old friend." During the segment, McCain praised Liddy's "adherence
to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great," said he
was "proud" of Liddy, and said that "it's always a pleasure for me to come
on your program."" ... "Additionally, in 1998, Liddy reportedly
held a fundraiser at his home for McCain. Liddy was reportedly scheduled
to speak at another fundraiser for McCain in 2000. The Charlotte Observer
reported on January 23, 2000, that McCain's campaign vouched for Liddy's
"character":"
"His
[McCain's] campaign officials said Liddy's character will appeal to many
voters because he was following orders from [Republican] President Nixon
and kept silent afterward."
""His
(Liddy's) judgment might be in question, but I don't think his character
is," said Ed Walker, the York County chairman of McCain's campaign. "He
was following orders just like any good soldier, and he didn't tell on
anybody. He felt like he was on a mission and kept his silence.""
"Liddy's
2000 speech was reportedly canceled due to bad weather." ... "In his May
4 [Chicago] Tribune column,
[columnist Steve] Chapman wrote:"
"What
McCain didn't mention is that he has his own Bill Ayers -- in the form
of G. Gordon Liddy. Now a conservative radio talk-show host, Liddy spent
more than 4 years in prison for his role in the 1972 Watergate burglary.
That was just one element of what Liddy did, and proposed to do, in a secret
White House effort to subvert the Constitution. Far from repudiating him,
McCain has embraced him."
...
"Last
November, McCain went on his radio show. Liddy greeted him as "an old friend,"
and McCain sounded like one. "I'm proud of you, I'm proud of your family,"
he gushed. "It's always a pleasure for me to come on your program, Gordon,
and congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles
and philosophies that keep our nation great.""
"Which
principles would those be? The ones that told Liddy it was fine to break
into the office of the Democratic National Committee to plant bugs and
photograph documents? The ones that made him propose to kidnap anti-war
activists so they couldn't disrupt the 1972 Republican National Convention?
The ones that inspired him to plan the murder (never carried out) of an
unfriendly newspaper columnist?"
"Liddy
was in the thick of the biggest political scandal in American history --
and one of the greatest threats to the rule of law. He has said he has
no regrets about what he did, insisting that he went to jail as "a prisoner
of war.""
[Chicago
Tribune columnist Steve Chapman]
"
-By Jon Sime -MediaMatters.org
20080923
John
McCain - Sarah
Palin - Media
- Politics
- Commentary
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Campbell
Brown Rips McCain Camp's "Sexist" Treatment Of Palin."
... "A prominent female news anchor chastised the [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate John] McCain campaign Tuesday evening for engaging
in sexism and insulting behavior in its attempt to shield [2008 Election
Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Gov. Sarah
Palin from members of the press." ... "In a fiery commentary, Campbell
Brown laid into John McCain for casting a "chauvinistic chain" that ran
over his running mate. Punctuated by a call to "Free Sarah Palin," the
CNN anchor highlighted the attempt Tuesday by the McCain campaign to ban
editorial reporters from covering Palin's visit with world leaders
at the UN, as yet another gender-demeaning move in a campaign highlighted
by sexist behavior." ... ""[Campbell Brown:] "Tonight I call on
the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate
flower that will wilt at any moment," said Brown. "This woman is from Alaska
for crying out loud. She is strong. She is tough. She is confident. And
you claim she is ready to be one heart beat away form the presidency. If
that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow
her to show her stuff. Allow her to face down those pesky reporters...
Let her have a real news conference with real questions. By treating Sarah
Palin different from the other candidates in this race, you are not showing
her the respect she deserves. Free Sarah Palin. Free her from the chauvinistic
chain you are binding her with. Sexism in this campaign must come to an
end. Sarah Palin has just as much a right to be a real candidate in this
race as the men do. So let her act like one."" -By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
WATCH:
Female news anchor tell Republican McCain camp to end its "sexist" treatment
of Republican Sarah Palin and "Free Sarah Palin"
20080922
John
McCain - Sarah
Palin - Politics
- Arizona
- 2008
Election
"The
Media Blackout: Nearly 40 Days and Counting." ...
"As of this writing, it has been 39 days and 22 hours since [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain
last held a news conference (despite having promised to hold weekly Q&A
sessions with the press if he's elected). According to the Democrats, it's
been 24 days and 11 hours since his running mate, [2008 Election Republican
Vice Presidential Candidate] Sarah Palin, held one." -By
Michael D. Shear -WashingtonPost
20080911
Media
- US
-  Mexico
"Carlos
Slim Helu, World's Second Richest Man, Buys Large Stake In New York Times."
... "Mexican financier Carlos Slim Helu and members of his family now own
6.4 percent of publicly traded shares in The New York Times Co., according
to a regulatory filing Wednesday." ... "The 9.1 million Class A Common
Shares were purchased by Inmobiliaria Carso, S.A. de C.V, a Mexican holding
company controlled by members of the Slim family, according to a disclosure
report the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission."
-AP via -HuffingtonPost.com
20080904
Sarah
Palin - John
McCain - Marketing
- Media
- 2008
Election - US
- Foreign
"No
Questions, Please. We'll Tell You What You Need To Know."
... "According to Nicole Wallace of the [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate John] McCain campaign, the American people don't care whether
[2008 Election Vice Presidential Candidate] Sarah Palin can answer specific
questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace -- in
an appearance I did with her this morning on Joe Scarborough's show --
the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve
to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on
the campaign trail and in campaign ads." [
WATCH the discussion]
... "Wallace's bash-the-media exercise has its merits as a campaign tactic.
It certainly rallies the base. But the base won't lift McCain to 50% in
November. More importantly, in her smug dismissal of the media's role in
asking questions of the candidates, Wallace was really showing contempt
not for reporters, but for voters." |
